The Secrets of a Golden Star
by MintyLiquorice
Summary: Disclaimer: I own nothing of Harry Potter. This is chapter 1 of a story that will evolve around students conflicts at Hogwarts, such as bullying, love affairs, hostility between houses etc. Focus on Harry and my own character Evelyn. A bit of romance.
1. Chapter 1

1.

Harry Potter was in a hurry. Keeping an eye out for such inconviniences as Snape or Filch, he rushed his way down the corridors of Hogwarts, on his way to the One-Eyed Witch's secret tunnel. "It's funny", he thought to himself, "how Fred and George felt the need to choose me, the person who would get the most trouble out of it if caught, to leave the common room after cerfew and break into the Candy Baron." But then again, he couldn't blame them. He was the only one with an invisibility cloak, and one of few who knew the secret of the Marauders Map.

He came to a halt at the sight of the statue. Searching through his pockets for his wand, and in the same time trying to keep the cloak safely wrapped around him, he wasn't too attentive to his surroundings. If he had been, he might have noticed that he was being watched.

Just when he was about to tap the statue's hump with his wand, he heard a voice.

"You're not gonna get through there, you know." Startled, Harry spun around and saw a girl step out from her hiding place behind a curtain. "And I know you're there", she added with a mischievous tone in her voice. "I saw your shoes when you were running". Harry sighed, cursed silentley over the Weasley twins and decided that it might be safe to remove the cloak. After all, the girl had yet made no attempt to get a teacher to the scene, so chances were that she wasn't going to either. But he kept his wand out as he took off his cloak, just in case.

"What do you mean, I can't get through there?", Harry asked, trying not to show the surprise he felt over the fact that someone else knew about the secret tunnel. The girl stepped out of the dark corner in which she had been standing before answering, but kept her distance from Harry and glared at his right hand. "You don't need that, really", she said and nodded towards his wand. "I'm not going to hex you or anything". Harry put the wand away, and the girl continued: "What I mean is that a couple of third years tried to make the tunnel a bit bigger a couple of weeks back. They didn't do so well, they actually caused the walls to crumble into pieces, so now the tunnel is completley blocked." She walked past Harry, opened the hidden door and stepped aside to show him the giant pile of stones that now covered the passage. "So I guess that you'll have to take your rule-breaking business elsewhere" she finished, as she closed the tunnel, turned around and looked directly at him for the first time.

She was pretty, Harry thought. Not conventionally pretty, but she definatly had some kind of beauty to her. She was blonde, her hair was cut about two inches above her shoulders and she had a long fringe that she swept to the side when she looked at him. Her eyes had a dark grey colour, and her skin was very pale, making the eyes look even darker. Her face was symmetric and well-balanced – her forehead was wide, as was her well-defined cheekbones and her strong jaw, but this rather harsh, square look was softened by her smile, that made her eyes sparkle and made Harry notice her plump lips. Harry glanced quickly down her body – she wasn't very tall, 5.2 at the very most. He couldn't really determine her body type, as the giant grey sweat shirt and the green cargo pants she was wearing did their best to cover her figure, but her wrists and ankles were slim and looked fragile. She was barefoot. Suddenly, Harry realized that he had spent at least one minute doing nothing but staring at her, and tried desperatly to think of a clever, humoristic way to break the silence.

"Um... do you come here often?" He could have slapped himself. That was probably the lamest thing he could have said. She mercifully enough refrained from making any comment, and answered with a little smile and a raised eye brow:

"Only when the rest of the Ravenclaws are having one of their study marathons. The common room was a bit too crowded for me tonight, so I sneaked out to read" – she showed him a copy of _Pride and Prejudice_ – "and have a snack" – she pulled out a bag of cookies from her pocket – "in peace", she finished.

"Do the Ravenclaws actually have study marathons? I thought that was a myth, like the Easter Bunny" Harry said. She laughed – oh joy! He had made her laugh! – and said:

"Nope, it's sad but true. They will chant the twelve uses of dragon's blood until four o'clock this morning."

"You're joking."

" I wish I did. But maybe a proper introduction would be in order?" She held her hand out, he took it and felt a chill down his spine. Her hand was like ice, but it seemed magnetic – he couldn't let go, neither could he look away from her grey eyes' gaze. Harry felt as if he was about to lose consciousness. The next second, however, she had let go and said with a smile that could have moved mountains:

"My name is Evelyn."

"Harry", he answered, his mouth dry all of a sudden.

"Harry... what?" she said, the twinkle in her eye made him suspect that she already knew the answer.

"Potter", he answered, trying not to sigh. But she didn't react like most others, she simply said "Nice to meet you, Harry Potter" and added hastily: "Oh, and my last name is" – she paused and made a wry face – "Gyllenstierna". She rolled her eyes – she clearly didn't like her name.

"That's... I don't think I've ever heard that name before" Harry said. Evelyn looked sullen:

"Yeah, it's pretty rare here in England, it's Swedish. Wish I could have had Stevens as my last name, like my father, but oh no, I was named 'Golden Star' instead. Good joke, mum." She made a gesture towards her clothes and shrugged. "Doesn't suit me a bit", she clarified. Harry, who thought of her hair, disagreed, but kept his mouth shut and did his best to look understanding instead. He wasn't at all prepared when Evelyn grabbed hold of his shirt and pulled him behind the statue of the hideous-looking old witch.

"What are you _doing_?" Harry asked, both confused and irritated.

"Sch!" Evelyn covered his mouth with her hand. "Filch!" she whisperd and nodded towards the end of the corridor, where a bobbing light could be seen, its source surely one of the ancient lanterns Filch usually carried around. In a second, the old janitor would turn the corner and almost surely spot them. Harry felt how the panic seized him, and a quick look at Evelyn made him realize that she was just as scared as he was. But then, in the very last moment, Harry's brain regained its function, he grabbed the Invisibility Cloak and threw it over them both.

Evelyn was even closer to him now. He could feel her breath on his neck as she leaned towards him, her hand was placed on his upper arm. Harry tried to focus on the problematic situation instead of the fact that she smelled like cornflowers, and kept absolutly still as he watched Filch pass by, muttering to himself. They waited five minutes or so after he disappeared to remove the cloak. Evelyn's pale cheeks were slightly rosier as she said:

"You really saved me there, Harry, thank you".

"You're welcome... I mean, you saved me just as much, I didn't even notice Filch coming", Harry answered, but he couldn't help feeling a bit like a knight, coming to the rescue of a damsel in distress. He smiled and adjusted his glasses, they had slid down his nose during the time they were huddled under the cloak.

"Well, I better get going, before Filch comes snooping around again" Evelyn said, and continued: "And thanks again... Ravenclaw really can't afford to lose any more points right now, especially not after you crushed us in the last quidditch game!" She gave him a gentle nudge on the shoulder, a smile and a wink, and then turned away. Harry watched her until she turned a corner, and then he turned too, returning to the Gryffindor tower, now with a smile on his face and his head full of pleasent thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

2.

"Harry?..Harry?... HARRY!"

Harry blinked, and turned around only to see an irritated Hermione.

"Do you realize", she said, with a voice that could freeze fire, "that I've been asking you the same question no less than three times now?"

"I'm sorry, Hermione, what did you say?" Harry tried his best to look remorseful, but didn't achieve any great results, he was too tired. He hadn't got much sleep at all last night, and now his head felt as if it was filled with cement.

"I said" – Hermione snapped "'Where were you last night, and what were you doing?' You went to get candy for Fred and George's idiotic party, and then you never came back!"

"Of course he came back, Hermione, otherwise he wouldn't be standing here now", Ron said with a grin and ducked as she aimed a blow at his head with her copy of _Hogwarts: A history_, which she for some (to Harry and Ron, anyway) unfathomable reason had brought with her to breakfast.

"You know exactly what I mean, Ronald" Hermione said, even more aggrevated now. "He was gone for almost two hours, and an unnecessary, not to mention illegal, trip to the Candy Baron's storage" – she gave Fred and George, who were walking in front of them, a furious look – "would take forty-five minutes at the most, what happened?"

"Filch", Harry said flatly. He didn't want to discuss the real events of last night, not yet anyway. Hermione was in her worst mood, probably because the Weasley twins had hidden her books last night and refused to tell her where (naturally, she had solved it with the Summoning Charm, but her mood didn't change for the better when she realized that the twins also had glued the pages together, in a somewhat desperate attempt to make her join the party).

As they reached the Great Hall and found seats at the Gryffindor table, Harry kept an eye on the Ravenclaw table, looking for Evelyn. He didn't find her amongst the other students, and quickly looked away when his former girlfriend Cho Chang looked up from her breakfast and met his eyes. Harry didn't want her to think he was looking at her, but when he glanced back at the table, she and her friend Marietta were discussing something with their heads close together, gesturing in his direction. Harry cursed under his breath and turned to Hermione and Ron, said:

"Do any of you know a Ravenclaw student named Evelyn G Something?" Both looked surprised, and Ron said with his mouth full of scrambled eggs:

"Wy dyo wahna no..." He swallowed, and then continued: "Why do you wanna know?"

"I just wondered", Harry said. "Hermione?"

"No", Hermione said with a disgusted look at Ron, who rolled his eyes at Harry. "Or wait..." Hermione looked thoughtful. "I know an Evelina, she's a first year, I helped her find her way to potions last week, could she be the one you're thinking about? Really sweet girl, with brown hair and freckles..."

"No", Harry interrupted, "It's not her".

"Who's this Evelyn then?" Hermione said, and gave Harry a sharp look. "She hasn't gotten you into some kind of trouble or anything?".

"No, she's... I..." He hesitated "I met her last night. She was out in the corridor too, and we talked for a bit. She was nice." _And beautiful_, he added silently.

Hermione's eyes looked as if they were to pop out of her skull.

"You _talked_?" she said with a voice that was full of disbelief.

"Yes, but..."

"She seemed _nice_?" Hermione now had something hysterical in her voice, that made Harry wish he hadn't said anything at all.

"I don't see why that's such a big deal" Harry said gloomingly.

"It's a big deal _because_" – Hermione's voice was now shrill and icy at the same time, which made Harry think of aunt Petunia for a split second – "You _talked _to someone while you were out after _cerfew_! She could have reported you! She could have hexed you! _Nice_" – Hermione looked contemptuous – "She could have gotten you _expelled_, and you call her _nice_?"

"She couldn't have, Hermione", Ron said, "Because she was breaking the rules just as much as Harry."

Hermione went quiet, but still looked like she had found a flobberworm in her cereals.

"Look over there, mate" Ron said and pointed towards the entrance door. A big group of Ravenclaw students were about to enter the Great Hall. Harry felt something in his stomach flutter. As the hord of students wearing blue, matched with a fatigue look that made Harry convinced that Evelyn hadn't lied about the study marathons, made their way to the Ravenclaw table, they were anxiously watched by Harry, curiously studied by Ron and recieving icy looks from Hermione. When all the students had found their seats, Harry had given up.

"She's not there" he said, confused and a bit sad. "I can't see her anywhere".

"Are you sure?" Hermione said, reluctantly curious. "What does she look like?"

Harry was about to answer when a loud crash interrupted him. A girl at the far end of the Ravenclaw had tripped over one of the chairs, which caused her to fall headlong and hit the stone floor in a way that looked very painful. Scattered laughs spread over the Great Hall, as the mousy-looking, blonde girl tried to recollect the things that had fallen out of her bag, which had ripped when she fell. The Slytherin table was practically cheering when the girl got up from the floor, displaying a giant ink stain on her shirt and badly scraped knees. She truly looked pityful, but the rude comments and unfriendly sneers didn't seem to bother her. At least she didn't show anything, she held her head high as she walked out of the Great Hall, and even did little mean hand gesture towards the Slytherins, which caused her to drop one of her books again. The laughs reached an unmerciful crescendo, but by that time the girl was safely out of the Hall.


	3. Chapter 3

3.

Ron chuckled, but stopped when he saw the look Hermione gave him.

"It looked funny" he said in a defensive tone.

"Well, it wasn't", Hermione answered, looking angry. "Didn't you see? One of the others tripped her on purpose, they made that chair slide out in front of her just as she was walking by. It was mean, Ron, not funny!"

"Are you done eating?" Harry asked. He had lost his appetite. What Hermione told them made him remember all the times Dudley and his gang had done similar things to him in the Muggle school. He felt genuine symphaty for the girl.

The others nodded, and the trio got up and went out in the corridor. As they reached the corner, they saw the girl who had been tripped standing behind an armour. She had taken her sweater of, and was now cleaning it from ink with her wand. The scrapings on her knees were still bleeding, and her glasses (that were big and not becoming) were cracked. As she finished her cleaning spell, she wiped something from her cheek. It could have been a strand of hair, but Harry was almost convinced that it had been tears.

"Poor thing", Ron whispered, looking a bit upset.

"Yeah", Harry answered, watching the girl as she examined her broken quill and smashed ink bottle. She hadn't discovered them yet.

"We really should do something", Hermione whispered. "Talk to her, make sure that she's OK".

"I doubt she's OK, who would be after that", Harry said, but then nodded to Hermione in agreement. "Let's talk to her".

They approached the girl, and when they were a few feet away, she turned and glared at them, looking both suspicious and scared. Her voice trembled a little as she said:

"What do you want?"

"Just see if you were alright" Hermione said in a friendly tone. The girl seemed to relax a bit, and put away her wand, which she had been aiming at them.

"Yeah", she said, her voice steadier now, "I suppose so. It could have been worse" she added with a gesture towards her knees. "This is nothing, really".

"It was a real mean thing they did in there" Ron said.

"It could have been worse" the girl said again and shrugged. She had put all of her things back in her bag now, and seemed to be getting ready to leave. "But thanks a lot for asking how I was", she said, smiling. _She has a beautiful smile_, Harry thought.

"Your glasses" Hermione said. "They're broken".

"They are?" The girl looked surprised. She raised her hands and removed the giant glasses from her face.

Harry almost jumped at the shock. That girl was...

"Evelyn!" he almost shouted. She looked up and her eyes met his. They were red, she had been crying.

"Hi, Harry", she said with a vague smile.

"I... I didn't recognize you! I'm sorry, Evelyn, but you just looked..."

"Different" she finished his sentence for him, as she was rubbing her eyes.

She really looked different this morning, compered to last night. Her hair was up in a pony tail, the fringe held back from her face with a black hairband. The uniform suited her well, but her posture ruined her appereance. She kept her neck and back slightly bent, as if she was constantly ducking. Somehow, this reminded Harry of Neville Longbottom. Her skin still was milky and beautiful, but her eyes didn't sparkle anymore. They just looked sad and tired, and the dark circles underneath them made her look worn, almost sickly. On each side of her nose, her glasses had left a red mark. There was hardly anything left of that pretty, intense and funny girl he had talked to last night.

"Evelyn... what was that in there? Why would they do something like that to you?" Evelyn didn't seem to listen. She was focusing her attention towards the Great Hall, looking anxious. Harry could understand why, he could also hear how the students were leaving the Hall in large groups now.

"Evelyn..." he started, but she interrupted him.

"I can't. Not here. Not now. But I'd like to talk to you. Can you meet me tonight, the same place as yesterday? Please?"

Looking into her eyes, Harry knew he couldn't refuse.

"Yes".

"Thank you". And with that, Evelyn walked away.


End file.
